Box Score KEENE, N.H. – An early second half surge helped propel Eastern Connecticut State University to a 78-69 victory over Keene State College in Little East College women's basketball action at Spaulding Gymnasium Tuesday night.
Sophomore forward Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, Mass.) had a game high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds for the Warriors (16-6, 8-3 LEC). Freshman guard Julia Nappi (Brookfield, Conn.) had 24 points, including three three-pointers.
The Owls (11-11, 3-8 LEC) were led on offense by sophomore guard Kelsey Cognetta (Stamford, Conn.), who had 18 points to go along with three steals.
The Warriors held onto a tight lead for the first 9:29 of the first half, though never separating by more than four points. They were able to stretch the lead to six on a Brianna Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) jumper with 5:21 remaining.
Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H.) put the offense on her back for the remainder of the half, scoring nine of the next 12 points for KSC to send the Owls to the locker room with a 34-33 lead.
The Warriors started the second half hot, opening up on a 24-11 run, spearheaded by 11 points by Nappi in the opening 10:30 of the second frame.
The Owls made a late run with less than five minutes remaining in the contest. Cognetta hit a corner three with 3:08 left and brought the score to 69-58. A layup in transition from freshman Stephanie D'Annolfo (Tyngsborough, Mass.) cut the lead to single digits, only to be matched by a shot clock-beating fadeaway jumper from Ritrosky, which eventually put an end to the Owls' comeback attempt.
Nappi scored 18 of her 24 points on the night in the second half.
Cognetta paced the Owl offense with her 18 points while Wojtas and D'Annolfo had 14 and 13 respectively to round out the Owls in double-digits.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well. Eastern Connecticut shot 52.2% from the field and 45.5% from deep and Keene State shot 49% from the field and 45.5 from three. The Warriors distributed well all night, dishing out 16 assists on 24 made baskets.
Keene State hits the road Saturday to take on Western Connecticut State at 1:00. Eastern Connecticut State heads back home for a Saturday matchup with UMass-Dartmouth at 3:00.
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